Save historial site: 113-115 Roman Road PA/17/00924

City View Hotel (113-115 Roman Road) is a historical site adding heritage value to Roman Road. It is currently under threat to be demolished and redeveloped.

Update 11 October 2018

Thanks to a huge response from local residents, a hearing will be held for the appeal in 4th December 2018, venue to be confirmed. Those who have expressed interest will be contacted by the local authority with further details. If you would like to support this campaign please contact the Globe Town Assembly on globetownassembly@gmail.com

We will keep you posted about further updates.

Originally published 4th September 2018

Deadline for appeals is Thursday 6th September. We need your help to protect this building.

The owners of 113-115 Roman Road are proposing to demolish the existing three storey hotel (currently containing 13 bedrooms) to construct a four storey hotel plus basement. The building would drop down to three, two and one storey at the rear to create a 22 en-suite bedroom hotel.

The existing building (City View Hotel) adds heritage value to Roman Road and its proposed demolition would mean the streetscape, public realm, and rear conservation area would be compromised. The ancient Monument Society (AMS) has also commented on the historic value of the site on Roman Road and believe this proposal would damage the Globe Road Conservation Area.

There have been several historic applications made regarding City View Hotel.

A planning application for Pepys House PA/15/02492 (which is located behind City View Hotel) has been approved. This allows for Pepys House to become a five storey building with a studio and two maisonette units.

This means there will already be a vast amount of redevelopment happening in the site directly behind City View Hotel.

For more information and to view planning application documents, click here.

Help us object to ensure that Roman Road retains its heritage and that Globe Road Conservation Area is kept safe.

Please act fast – there isn’t much time left until the end of the consultation period. Deadline for appeals is Thursday 6th September.

Dear Planning Officer

I wish to OBJECT to planning appeal APP/E5900/W/18/3195526 and support LBTHʼs decision to refuse the application PA/17/00924 that seeks to demolish and redevelop 113-115 Roman Road (City View Hotel). This is a historical site that is key to retaining the heritage of Roman Road and Globe Road Conservation Area.

The application, if granted, would result in the unacceptable expansion of 113-115 Roman Road from a three storey building into a five storey building plus basement. The proposed plan means that the hotel will hold 22 en-suite bedrooms compared to its current 13 rooms.

My reasons for objection to the above application are as follows:

Heritage

We value the existing buildings and streetscape along the north side of Roman Road as one of the most significant heritage assets within Globe Town Conservation Area. The Victorian terraced properties and their uniquely varying scale, materials, details and form are what give our high street on Roman Road its unique and special character. The proposed demolition at 113-115 Roman Road would result in the loss of a significant part of this asset.

The entire western part of this section of Roman Road is two and three storey early Victorian properties. And although there have been developments the Council has deliberately limited the developments to the rear and maintained the low but varying roofline which contributes to the character to this lower and earlier Victorian part of the high street in the Globe Town Conservation Area; in contrast to the mostly four storey and later Victorian eastern part. The two three-storey Victorian properties on the application site mark the eastern end of the lower part of the streetscape and it is important that they are retained because a four-storey replacement would set a precedent for other higher developments in this lower and earlier part of the streetscape.

The design of the proposed taller façade, as described in the drawings, fails to acknowledge the scale, materials, details and form of the buildings in this part of the conservation area. The two, two-bay buildings proposed for demolition are among the best examples of the early Victorian more modest terraced houses with shops. Behind and above the single storey front addition are the upper two storeys with concealed roofing behind the parapet, which is level with the parapet of the very similar early Victorian buildings to the west. Enhancing this well-proportioned and modest double two-bay façade are two party wall chimneystacks with their red chimney pots and segmental brick arches with vertical bricks. These modest, well- proportioned buildings provide a necessary contrast to the more elaborately-detailed taller and later Victorian buildings in the eastern part of Globe Townʼs conservation area. These contrasting streetscapes are a distinctive and important part of illustrating the developmental history of the street and area as a whole.

Some surrounding areas have suffered great loss of heritage assets along their high streets; whilst striving to regenerate our high street we are passionate that our community does not suffer the same unnecessary loss of character and sense of place.

Loss of Amenity

The proposed development would result in the loss of amenity for its neighbours, specifically residents of 111 Roman Road. The increased height, scale, mass and site coverage would create a greatly increased sense of enclosure, and loss of privacy and light for a number of residents surrounding the site of the proposed greatly enlarged property.

I find the proposals for demolition and construction within planning application PA/17/00924 contrary to a number of national, regional and local planning policies and guidance including the following:

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About us

Roman Road Trust is a grassroots organisation helping regenerate a high street and its community in one of the poorest boroughs of the country – Roman Road in Bow, Tower Hamlets, London. Our vision is of a thriving local economy that provides the opportunity and space for communities to flourish.